Return
by Fires of Mordor
Summary: Something nasty is coming back to the galaxy, and two young students at the Jedi Academy have to stop it, willing or not.
1. Arrival

Return

Me no own, Me just write.

"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at you side, kid…" _These words were spoken by Han Solo to Luke Skywalker. His words have been discredited countless times…and by countless people._

The pilot announced their approach to Yavin 4 over the intercom. Kordav Vesttry sat very still, almost shaking with excitement. Fear, though, and anxiety were also present. He was going to the Jedi academy. _The _Jedi academy. The human's palms were sweating, his red hair stood on end as they entered the atmosphere, his bright green eyes wide in excitement. The Twi'lek sitting beside him, though, was quite the opposite in expression.

Sar'ri Quilea sat in quiet confidence. The blue-skinned girl sat, breathing steadily, the way she was always taught by her father. She was of course excited to be going to the academy, but didn't show it as blatantly as the human sitting beside her did. The ship landed at the academy.

As the students stepped of the ship, Jedi Master Kelden Cerr looked over each one thoroughly. He spotted two that caught his attention right away. A red-headed human boy and a blue-skinned Twi'lek. He leaned just slightly towards Luke Skywalker and Kyle Katarn in front of him and said just loud enough for them to hear: "The red-head and blue-skin are mine."

The other two Jedi Masters just nodded. This was how it always worked. Kelden would pick one or two students in which he sensed something special. Kelden never could place a finger on what it was, but he certainly knew if it was there or not. Jaden Korr, a young Kel'Dor and the academy's former best student, now their best Jedi, and going for the rank of Master; came up beside them. "Good bunch." He commented. The other three nodded in accord. He was right; the force was stronger in these than it was in most of the students they got.

They all entered the academy's main chamber. Luke gave his standard 'Welcome to the Jedi Academy, let the torture begin.' speech, but Kelden didn't hear it. He was too intent on the two youth sitting side by side on the floor. Neither of them noticed the staring, but Kelden really didn't care if they did. He trained two types of students: the ones he could tell would have exceptional saber skill, the ones that would be exceptionally skilled in the Force, and the ones he could tell that would be exceptionally skilled in both. Now he had two of the 'both' camp sitting right in front of him. He wasn't gonna give up the opportunity.

Luke split the young Jedi-to-be up with masters. Kelden and his two students were the last called. "Sar'ri Quilea and Kordav Vesttry, you'll be with Master Kelden Cerr. Good luck to you all." Kelden grinned. Kelden was one of those people that had two smiles, both were sincere, but one put you at ease and the other creeped you out. This smile was the second one. He strode over, his twin lightsabers bouncing at his waist.

"Kelden Cerr at your service," he said, extending a hand. Kordav took it. Sar'ri shook his hand second. Kelden continued, "And don't call me 'Master Cerr', please." He gave a disarming smile and motioned for the two to follow him as he strode off.

He led them to a small chamber filled with storage cases and books. There was even a small shelf of Jedi, and Sith, holocrons. "Welcome to my library," Kelden said, "As of now, this is where you will study the Jedi arts. After you pick a lightsaber (or lightsabers), we will see if the training course is open. Have at 'em." Kelden waved his hand and several of the cases opened, revealing several dozen lightsabers. The two youth gasped in amazement. Kordav took a step forward and took a lightsaber out of its case.

"The lightsaber of Mace Windu, mainly for fast, slashing and jabbing attacks. Well, light it up, give it a swing." He said as Kordav hesitated. Kordav activated the lightsaber and the famed violet blade emerged. He swung it around, if a bit clumsily. Kordav deactivated it and put it back in its case. It didn't feel right in his hands.

Sar'ri also picked up a lightsaber. "Ah," Kelden commented, "the lightsaber of Qui-Gon Jinn. A good choice." Sar'ri activated the weapon. The green blade turned in her hands as she swung it around timidly. "Don't be afraid," Kelden said supportively, "they're all set at a very low power. No harm can come from them." The two worked methodically through the lightsabers, neither finding one that fit them. Kelden noticed Kordav using his wrist a lot when trying the lightsabers.

"Try this," Kelden said as he handed Kordav a lightsaber with a curved handle and a hook at the end. Kordav did, and gave a yell, dropping the lightsaber to the floor, its blood red blade still exposed. He gaped at the Sith blade, then at his master, then back at the blade.

"Go on," Kelden said heatedly, "it doesn't bite, pick it back up and try it. No buts." He added decisively as Kordav started to protest. Kordav followed his orders, though, and picked the blade up. Kelden was right, the blade did fit him. It felt right in his hands.

Kelden went back to his holocron shelf and picked one of the Sith ones up. "Put that one back, you'll be building your own." Kordav followed the order and sat down in one of the vacant chairs.

Sar'ri was having trouble finding one as well. She came across a tiny lightsaber paired up with a normal sized one. She picked up both, holding the now activated smaller lightsaber backhandedly, the other fit in her right hand, the grip just perfect for the one-handed handling.

"The lightsaber of Jedi Master Yoda paired with the lightsaber of Anakin Skywalker at the time of the Battle of Geonosis." Kelden said, nodding in approval. He used the force to pull two holocrons from a high shelf. He levitated them over to Sar'ri and gave the Sith one to Kordav.

"To the work room." Kelden said, and led the way.


	2. Sabers

They entered the work room. It was a small, plain room with several storage cabinets and a few workbenches.

"First, over here." Kelden instructed. The padawans obediently followed instructions. Kelden opened a storage case and motioned towards it. "Pick your favorite color." He ordered. Sar'ri immediately strode forward and picked up a silver and a green crystal. Kordav balked. Kelden rolled his eyes in a 'what's wrong now?' gesture.

"You have red crystals," he commented gravely, "Only Sith use red crystals."

"And that crystal has saved my life more than once. With that, I can strut into a Sith or Dark Force user's stronghold without a second thought. None are stupid enough to challenge a Dark Force user, not with what they can do." Kordav nodded gravely and pulled out a white crystal.

"One thing about that crystal," Kelden said, "it's dual sided, black on one and white on the other." Kordav looked at the crystal with happiness. He had only chosen the white crystal because he couldn't see a black. They took a seat as Kelden explained how to build a lightsaber and how to use a holocron. The two both learned quickly, and, within an hour, they were both finished.

"Before I even start to teach you how to use those," Kelden said gravely, "you'll learn when to use those." Kelden lectured them long and hard for about another hour, teaching them the responsibility that comes with being a Jedi, and the given self-control needed to keep lightsabers sheathed until needed. The call to eat came shortly after Kelden finished. The students ate at an assortment of tables, while the Jedi and Masters ate at one large one. The Force was used in great quantity here, training in the art of moving things with the power they had. Kelden's students, as always, looked a little lost. Kelden always taught the Force after lunch. This way, his students' first experience and knowledge of Force use came from peers. They learned better that way. They were all dismissed and joined up, student and master once again for afternoon lessons. Kelden led them to a small, plain room with opaque walls.

"I thought we were going to the training course." Kordav said as he levitated a small pebble. The pair of them had become fascinated with the Force, and put it to constant use.

"I would tell you you're going to feel that in the morning," Kelden said, amused, "but, alas, I know you won't."

"Why not?" Sar'ri asked, confused.

"Because, you two have a special connection to the Force; 0ne that's stronger than with the other students'." The two gave him questioning looks.

"Prove it." Kordav challenged. Kelden sighed, this almost always happened. No one believed him when he revealed their power to them. He gathered a small amount of lightning in his hand and let it at his two padawans. It played over their skin without hurting them. They both flinched away. It took them a second to realize it wasn't hurting them. They marveled at what was happening.

"Proof enough?" Kelden asked, "That little trick, the Force lightning, is really useful for opening locked doors. You just fry the panel, and, voila, instant key. Now, up. I'm going to teach you basic use of the Force."


	3. Sar'ri's test

He taught them for hours, teaching them push, pull, speed, sense, and even a basic mind trick. They went to bed exhausted. They woke up the next morning perfectly fine. They were starting to believe Kelden. They really did have a special connection to the Force. They ate breakfast and reported to the training room. They found there only a note.

Training course. Was all it said. They reported to the course and found no one there. Sar'ri heard something. She whipped around, Kordav was only a beat behind her. They soon found two sabers, one blue, one purple, flying at them. They countered in unison. The sabers came on again, this time with Kelden behind them. Kyle Katarn followed with his single blue lightsaber. Kelden confronted Sar'ri. His sabers whipped back and forth in a flurry of light and sound. Sar'ri blocked the best she could. She was sure that, if he wanted to, Kelden could hit her at any time he wanted. She waited patiently and when Kelden backed off just a little, Sar'ri pressed the attack. Her small saber dove for Kelden's side, her large one aiming at his head. Kelden blocked them effortlessly. Her dagger whipped in reverse, going out away from Kelden and joining her other saber. She forced Kelden's saber down and in, maneuvering it to shunt Kelden's second saber down. Kelden jumped back just in time to avoid the nasty hit he would have taken from Sar'ri's backhanded saber strike.

Kordav fought cautiously. His saber worked relentlessly to fend of the just-as-relentless Kyle. That blue saber nearly took his head off several times, yet he always seemed to get his saber around with a wrist rotation, sidestep, or backpedal. As he gained momentum, he pressed Kyle. Taking ground step by step, his black saber hummed and whistled. Kyle was losing, he realized, and almost pressed into a corner.

"NOW!" Kelden yelled, and the two Jedi masters jumped over the slightly startled and completely bewildered students and ran in different directions. Kordav chased Kyle, Sar'ri Kelden.

Sar'ri whipped around a corner and nearly ran face-first into Kelden. She jumped back and readied her sabers, but Kelden didn't attack. He raised his hand and used the Force to pile bricks in front of the door. Sar'ri cut at them with her sabers, but it was no use, for the blocks were corotosis coated in durasteel. Sar'ri concentrated, raised her hand, and pushed with all the Force she could muster. The bricks flew back at blinding speeds, slamming into, and cracking, the opposite wall, ten feet away. _I'm starting to believe Kelden, _she thought,_ maybe we _are_special._ She entered another arena and quickly lit her sabers. Kelden was nowhere to be seen. Sar'ri concentrated again. She sensed something high and at her back. She turned, whipping her dagger at Kelden in the same motion. It was smacked harmlessly wide and Kelden disappeared again over the wall. Sar'ri recalled her dagger and continued, to find the door locked. She looked around and found a lever behind a grate. She tried cutting the bars, but, alas, more corotosis. She concentrated, finding that the Force was easier to connect with each time she did it, and pulled the lever. She entered a hallway only to find the door closing. She hit the panel and ran, but was to slow, the hallway was too long. She walked back, used the panel to open the door, and tried again. Again, she was to slow. She concentrated, finding she didn't have to even close her eyes to find the Force, hit the panel and ran. The door seemed to move as if through honey. She dove into a roll and barely made it through. She thought the whole thing too easy as she Force jumped up to a circular platform. Kelden was waiting for her. She whipped her dagger at him and charged. The reckless move startled Kelden for a split second before he smacked the dagger out of the way. It went a foot before it reversed direction to return to the charging Sar'ri's hand. Her sabers worked furiously, driving even the experienced Master back. Kelden waited for his chance. A foot before he would have fallen off the edge of the platform, he found it. He jumped high, right over Sar'ri's head. He expected the flying dagger as he landed, but didn't expect Sar'ri's other saber coming at him as well. He crossed his sabers in front of him and whipped them out to the side, smacking both sabers aside. In the moment it took him to realize the ploy for what it was; Sar'ri had gathered all the Force she could and shoved the Jedi Master off the platform, exploiting his split second of vulnerability.


	4. Kordav vs Kyle

Kordav streaked after the running Kyle. He paid almost no heed to the obstacles the Jedi Master put in front of him, using the force to brush them aside without a thought. He had practiced with the Force more than Sar'ri, who worked on mastering two sabers at once. Only once was he caught off guard when he ran into a solid wall of Force lightning. He knew not protection skills, so he searched for Kyle with the Force and deftly launched his saber at him. A single bolt of lightning blasted it aside. Kordav thought hard. He gathered all the Force he could, making a barrier that surrounded him with a green light. He charged into the lightning, calling his saber to him and leaping towards the surprised Jedi Master. Kyle rolled off the back of the wall he was kneeling on, and Kordav followed, amazed that he could still use the Force after that shield.

He found his way, now picking his way along the same course Sar'ri had used not five minutes ago. He was met by two saber-wielding droids. Kordav activated his saber and charged with abandon. He met the first saber, only to spin his own in a dizzying loop to block the other. This went on, Kordav always on the defensive, his black saber a whirl of humming power. He launched a desperate tactic at the last moment before his defenses collapsed under the relentless attacks of the droids. He connected with a saber, letting drive his down and used the pressure as balance for the flailing kick that caught the second droid in the chest, sending it reeling back. He reversed the pressure on his saber as his foot hit the ground, pushing the droid's saber in an arc to the ground. He then slammed the hilt of his saber into the side of its head, collapsing one of the droid's optical sensors. He then reversed direction, deftly beheading the droid and moving fluidly to change the slash into a lunging stab that drove through the second droid's torso, shutting it down. He continued on to the room with the platform, making sure Kyle wasn't waiting to skewer him the second he got up there before he jumped.

He squared off against the Jedi Master. Kyle Katarn was famed for his saber skill. He waited, and when Kyle dropped into a roll, jumped over the attacking Master, spinning to face the already responding saber. Left, right, right, right, left, center, up swept Kyle's saber at dizzying speeds. Kordav, with his saber's superior agility, managed to hold back his furious opponent. Kordav went on the offensive with a series of swirling, feigning attacks. His saber wove left and right, pumped up and down, and drove even the powerful Kyle back. Kyle hardly thought, using pure instinct and his strong Force connection to hold off who he thought to be the best saber wielder in the academy, with exception to Luke and Kelden.

Kyle blocked more easily as he got used to the young human's style, even got a few counters through the boy's attacks, which were immediately batted aside. As Kordav's momentum waned, Kyle pushed back, bring them to a saber lock stalemate at the center of the raised arena. Both of them knew whoever won that lock, won the fight. Kyle pushed Kordav back with his strength and weight, but, bent over, Kyle was vulnerable. Kordav rolled from one knee onto his back, and, using Force speed to keep Kyle's saber away from him long enough, kicked out with both legs, blasting Kyle back and away. He followed and put his black saber at the stunned Master's throat.

"Yeild." He commanded.

"Hell yes." Kyle responded.

At lunch, a fight broke out. The two best students in the academy faced off, sabers drawn, intense stares locking. Nobody dared stepped in, fearing the two powerful padawans. Kelden looked meaningfully at his students. They looked at each other, sighed and got up, walking over to the two. They paid Kelden's students no heed. A mistake, as it turned out, for as they came together, Sar'ri and Kordav stepped in. Sabers locked, but not on the ones the fighting student's intended. They backed up from these relatively unknown interlopers.

"Back off," the one facing Kordav growled.

"This isn't your fight," the other put in.

"Oh," Kordav said, "but it is. None of us eat until everyone sits down, so you two are standing between me and my food."

"And trust me," Sar'ri quipped, "I've seen the boy eat. That's not a good place to be." The students regarded their new opponents, ready to teach these two who was boss. The one facing Kordav lunged, aiming, ironically enough, for Kordav's stomach. He knew his saber couldn't kill Kordav on its low setting, but that hardly mattered. Kordav spun, dropped his own saber, grabbed the hilt of his opponents, and Force shoved the student back, relieving him of his saber and retrieving his own. Sar'ri merely Force pushed her opponent into the wall, holding him there. Both of them lifted the students back to their chairs, Kordav returned his enemy's saber, and both returned to their chairs.

Awed and humbled, the Academy's residents started to eat.


	5. Only Twice

After lunch, another Force lesson.

"Sit." Kelden bade. His students sat obediently. "As you probably just saw," Kelden said, "you have more power than the other students here. That means you have a greater responsibility to keep it _under control._ Do you hear me?" His students nodded. "Good. Now, Force shielding. Kordav discovered it in his little fight with Kyle, but that shield was shaky at best. I'm going to teach you to do it for real." And so they started, with Kyle first lecturing them on the use of the power, then demonstrating it, then letting them try. If they screwed up, Kelden told them what they were doing wrong. If they made the same mistake twice, Kelden exploded in their faces, only to calm immediately afterward. This was the way it was with everything they did. Eventually the question came up, from Kordav.

"What happens if we do the same thing three times?"

"You won't make the same mistake thrice." Kelden said flatly.

"How do you know?"

"Because, if you _make_ the same mistake thrice, you'll wish that the Force, the Jedi Order, lightsabers, Sith, and midichlorians didn't exist and that this whole experience was just a dream." Kordav's eyes went wide, and he shut his mouth and went back to his work.

One day, hours before dawn, a very excited human woke the weary two up.

"C'mon you two," he said cheerfully, and, Sar'ri noticed sourly, loudly, "Kelden said Kyle and Jaden get you for a day!"

"Who _are_ you?" Kordav demanded, half in protest, half in question.

"Rosh Pennin, at your service," the human said with a little bow, "I'm a student of Kyle's."

"Well then, Rosh," Sar'ri said, "Would you please leave so we can get ready for our little outing with those two?"

"Nope," Rosh replied. When Kordav looked about ready to leap across the room and throttle him, he hastily added, "They said they wanted you straight out of bed, no excuses." Kordav growled and grabbed his lightsaber. "Can't have those, either," he said.

"Who said I was planning on bringing it along?" Kordav muttered to Sar'ri as he tossed the saber to his bed and walked out. Sar'ri gave a small laugh and followed. Rosh led them to the front entrance of the academy without a word. Kyle and Jaden were waiting, both had a branch in their hands.

"Hello," Kyle said in greeting, "and welcome to blaster weapons boot camp."


End file.
